“If you wait until you can do everything for everybody, instead of something for somebody, you’ll end up not doing nothing for nobody.” — Malcom Bane

Even for me, a seasoned Life Coach with many tools at my fingertips to help me maintain a positive mindset and optimistic expectation for the BEST outcomes, 2017 has been one helluva challenging year.

I honestly cannot remember one single year of my 64 so far that has been packed with such a steady stream of dispiriting calamities – devastating natural disasters like fires, floods and hurricanes; man-made tragedies like the Las Vegas shooting massacre of innocents; terrorism and wars around the globe; and a dysfunctional government in Washington filled with politicians who seem far more focused on enriching themselves and getting good press than on actually helping the people who elected them.

As I was pondering what a crazy and depressing year it’s been, my subconscious mind suddenly began running through the lyrics to the catchy little song called “We Need a Little Christmas” by Shane Harper. In case you don’t remember it, here are a few of the verses:

“Haul out the holly;

Put up the tree before my spirit falls again.

Fill up the stocking,

I may be rushing things but deck the halls again now.

For we need a little Christmas

Right this very minute,

Candles by the window,

Carols at the spinet.

Yes, we need a little Christmas

Right this very minute….

For I’ve grown a little leaner,

Grown a little colder,

Grown a little sadder,

Grown a little older,

And I need a little angel

Sitting on my shoulder,

Need a little Christmas now.”

I am usually the first to complain that store displays, commercials and non-stop Christmas songs blaring from the radio start before Halloween nowadays. But this year, I am looking forward to a little Christmas atmosphere just as soon as we can get it…Not the commercial “buy everything you can get your hands on” kind of atmosphere — But the REAL “Spirit of the Holidays” (which include Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa — every tradition that is celebrated around the end of each year).

That Spirit reflects our BEST human impulses — Gratitude,Giving, Caring and Sharing. It’s the one season when we all seem willing to set aside our many differences and come together. We are ready to take a breath and just be kinder and more loving toward our fellow human beings. And I say that we are ready for a little of that Christmas Spirit right about NOW!

So I am going to start the ball rolling early this year! For the past several years, this blog has had a holiday tradition called the “Pay-It-Forward Challenge” that invites YOU to participate. I love hearing about the many creative ways my readers find to help someone else, show them that they matter to you, or simply brighten their day and put a smile on their face.

I got the idea for the Pay It Forward Challenge when I was at Starbucks during Thanksgiving week a couple of years ago. A stranger ahead of me paid $5.00 toward my purchase, which turned my frazzled, grumpy day around and put a smile on my face that never went away through the rest of the year. That simple generous kindness inspired me to buy a bunch of $5.00 gift cards and begin giving them out every few days to the baristas at the register to bestow on random people in the line behind me.

I can’t wait to repeat that joyful practice again from this month through the end of the year! I trust that each of those surprised strangers who receive my gift will also pay it forward to make someone else feel special and cared about. Last year, the baristas told me that there were a number of people doing the same thing, creating a big old warm chain of joy and gratitude, one cup at a time!

You can experience the joy of spreading around some “Holiday Spirit” in your own creative ways. Your kindness and thoughtfulness doesn’t have to cost anything. Here are few examples my readers came up with in years past:

Let someone who appears to be in a hurry go ahead of you in the checkout line. I promise they will beam at you!

Help a harried friend or colleague run an errand, or babysit their kids while they do.

Surprise your friends, family and clients with a snail-mailed or emailed Thanksgiving card this year! Few people think to send them, but this gesture says, “I am so grateful for you!” to friends and customers like nothing else can.

Use your musical, baking or crafting talents to spread cheer and delight to children, neighbors, elderly folks and the sick.

Help an older person or someone who is under the weather put up their holiday decorations or haul home their Christmas tree.

Donate some lightly-used warm clothing or blankets to an organization that serves the homeless.

Donate food or pet supplies to an organization that helps loving pets that are patiently waiting for their forever homes.

Surprise someone with a tin of tea and a plate of homemade holiday treats. Better yet, sit down and listen to them while you enjoy the goodies together.

If you are able, pay your own financial blessings forward by spreading the prosperity around a bit. Here are just a few ideas:

Surprise a friend on a tight budget with a supermarket gift card that will make their Holiday feast much brighter.

At the gas station, if you notice someone in an old car with kids in the back, surprise her by paying for a tank of gas.

Astonish a homeless person by handing them $5 or $10 instead of spare change.

Contribute a little extra to your favorite charity or cause. I like to support local animal rescue organizations that are operating on a shoestring. $25 means far more to them than it does to the big animal welfare organizations, although I try to donate as much as I can to those, too.

This year, more than any other in recent memory, we have the opportunity to donate to the Red Cross and other relief organizations that are struggling to fill the needs of millions whose lives have been upended from so many back-to-back natural disasters.

It’s easy to fall into despair and think “What difference can I make in the face of all that seems so wrong and tragic in the world?” But as this week’s quote reminds us, any little thing we do for someone else to pay forward all the many blessings we have received in our own lives is BIG to that person. And if each of us makes it our mission to touch just ONE life this way, we can start a tidal way of Gratitude, Kindness and Giving that just might spread “a little Christmas” cheer far beyond the end of the year.

Please email me your own Pay It Forward Challenge story! I will collect them and share them in a future blog to inspire others to do more of the same.

If you or your friends would like your own free subscription to receive this blog three Sundays a month, just go to http://www.practicalprosperitycoach.comand click on the Prosperity Tips button at the top.

To schedule a no-obligation, F*R*E*E* HOUR of phone coaching that will help clarify your Big Goals and get you into ACTION to make them a reality, please email me at caroll@practicalprosperitycoach.com.

“When we set out to do the best we can do, it is inevitable that great opportunity finds us because we are doing what truly makes us happy. We’re in alignment and ready for the opportunities that life puts in our path.” – Josh Hinds

Having a ton of Fall fun with my wonderful husband Rick and others this past week, I found myself short on time to write a new blog this weekend.

Fortunately, while combing through the blog archives for ideas, I came across a post that reflects exactly what has been happening with several of my clients this very week, so the lesson is as timely today as it was two years ago!

In these especially uncertain times, I believe it is a comforting reminder we ALL can use whenever anxiety takes hold of us about the current status of our careers, relationships, goals or projects. So please enjoy this lightly-edited re-post!

October 31, 2015

I am writing this on Halloween, just a few hours before the doorbell begins to chime and little Ghosts and Goblins appear on the doorstep to scare us into handing over the chocolate.

Halloween got me thinking about the emotion of fear and how pervasive it is in our lives. One of the things the human Ego seems to be hardwired to fear most is loss. Whether it’s a personal relationship, our health, a job, or a financial loss, our first reaction is likely to be fear that we won’t ever be able to replace what has been taken from us with something equally good.

(I should clarify here that I am not talking about the death of someone dear to you as being simply a “loss” to be replaced. No individual can ever be replaced because we are each unique and special and priceless. And while a breakup or divorce can be as traumatic as a death, we still must believe that when our grieving process is complete, we will one day experience love and joy again, with another unique and special person.)

What I have discovered over many years spent studying theLaw of Attraction (“energy attracts like energy”) is that our attitude about a loss has everything to do with whether it eventually opens up the space for a new blessing or becomes a slippery slope to further loss.

If you can come to accept that your loss is simply what’s so right now, you can turn your thoughts and emotions to what you WANT to have happen next, instead of expending precious energy on useless denial. I personally find that my greatest ally in this is my faith. Like most of my clients, I believe in a Higher Power (I call it God, but you may call it The Universe, Life Force, Infinite Spirit or something else) that has my back and wants me to succeed. My faith and past experience always remind me that a loss is a temporary condition and is not going to doom me.

I choose to believe that something just as good or even better is on its way to me right now. I choose to believe that God/the Universe always knows what I am going to need even before I know it, and is always looking for ways to match me up with others who need what I have to offer, so we can create a Win-Win together. All I have to do to receive my Good is to let go of trying to force my own solutions, and instead listen quietly for the perfect “How” that God/The Universe is trying to guide me to. When I follow the prompting of that “still, small voice” inside me, I inevitably end up in the right place at the right time to receive my Highest Good.

I had a delightful experience of this phenomenon just this week. Well, it didn’t start out as delightful, as I got an unexpected loss. One of my favorite clients texted that she was not going to continue our coaching for the foreseeable future, due to dealing with serious personal matters that had her too distracted to focus on the Big Goal we were working on.

At first, I was taken aback. Texting?Really? Why wouldn’t she choose to tell me this on the upcoming call we had scheduled that she had already paid for? It was hard not to take it personally. I felt like the heroine in an old television show whose boyfriend broke up with her via a Post It note stuck to her computer screen!

But, honestly, I wasn’t upset with my client. When I examined my emotional reaction to this loss more closely, I discovered an old fear coming up for me.

Even though my coaching practice has been quite full for some time, around Halloween, the past still comes back to haunt me. My husband is a Realtor, and the fall and winter months tend to be quieter times for his business. For several years during the Great Recession, his real estate income was very sporadic, so my coaching income paid most of the bills. Every Holiday season, I was terrified that all my clients would go on an extended vacation and we wouldn’t have a turkey on the table or presents under the tree.

Although our REALITY may change, our Ego’s old Limiting Beliefs are hard to shake. Remembering a few challenging Holiday seasons from the past was enough to set my fearful Ego off because it is still on guard, searching for ANY sign that we could once again be financially insecure. Thankfully, I recognized the oldLimiting Belief resurfacing and reminded my fearful Ego that Rick and I are both prospering in our careers, have plenty of savings in the bank, and our past is not in our future.

One of my favorite tools to help my Ego relax so I can listen for the divine “How” is this affirmation: “I hereby give up my Old, Limiting Belief that there is never enough and life is a constant struggle. My New, Empowering Belief is that I am prosperous, with never-ending abundance to spare and to share!” So, after reading my client’s text, I repeated it aloud and went on with my day.

Just two hours later, I had a free coaching session with someone I had never met who was referred to me by a colleague. Our session was originally scheduled for a few weeks ago, but she had to reschedule for the same afternoon that I received the “Dear Jane” text from my client.

Our free session went great. There was comfortable rapport and immediate trust between us, and I was delighted to learn that she embraces the Law of Attraction and many of the LOA tools I use to help my clients turbo-charge their results. Without hesitation, she signed up for coaching.

When I gave her a choice among my open time slots, she chose the one that my former client had graciously made available that very day. Thus, what looked like a loss just a couple of hours earlier was transformed into a Win-Win-Win for my new client, my former client and me!

And once again, I was reminded that if we steadfastly BELIEVE in our dreams, RELEASE our Ego’s fear of loss, and EXPECT something good to take its place, we can turn our pain into wonderful gain.

If you or your friends would like your own free subscription to receive this blog three Sundays a month, just go here and click on the Prosperity Tips button at the top of the page: http://practicalprosperitycoach.com

To schedule a no-obligation, F*R*E*E* HOUR of phone coaching that will help clarify your Big Goals and get you into ACTION to make them a reality, please email me at caroll@practicalprosperitycoach.com.

“What’s interesting is that most of us intuitively already know what we should let go of. The challenge is to take action to end negative patterns, habits, or relationships that are getting in our way.” – found in the book Keep It Simple by Joe Calloway

A surprising number of my coaching clients confess to holding the Limiting Belief “I am not worthy” or “I don’t deserve” success. I’m not a trained therapist so I don’t know exactly where this belief stems from in each of their pasts, but I have come to believe it’s related to a type of guilt that many people share.

If you have any degree of financial security, good health, loved ones, reliable food and shelter – in short, a good life — the tragic circumstances so many others are suffering under today can make you feel some degree of guilt that you have been spared. When you recognize how much good you have been blessed with, it’s easy to think “Why me?” and feel undeserving.

My job as a Personal Success Coach is pretty straightforward: to help my clients achieve their Big Goals with maximum speed and ease. That would seem to require just making a good action plan and sticking to it until the race is won. Ah, but there is so much going on between their ears that gets in the way! What has been coming up lately for some is akin to “Survivor’s Guilt.”

Survivor’s Guilt is a very real, crippling psychological condition that arises in some people who have somehow survived a traumatic incident in which others perished, such as a plane or car crash or war. Intellectually, survivors recognize that they didn’t cause the horrible circumstance that killed their comrades, and there was nothing they could have done to save them, but they still hold deep guilt about the unanswerable question “Why me? Why did I survive?” It can paralyze them emotionally and ruin the rest of their lives if they cannot get past it.

Given that the daily news feed is filled with non-stop natural disasters and man-made atrocities, I see more clients than ever who are suffering from a lesser but still paralyzing condition I call “Striver’s Guilt.” They feel guilty for pursuing their personal dreams while others are suffering. Or they feel guilty if they are making faster progress in creating a successful business than other seemingly nice, deserving people who are not having the same degree of success for their efforts. “Why me?” they wonder.

I recently talked with someone during a free coaching session who was suffering from “Striver’s Guilt” that had kept her from taking action on her Big Goals for her network marketing business for several weeks. She said it felt selfish and petty to call potential customers about buying her company’s products or joining her in the business amidst all the terrible news of people losing everything to hurricanes or earthquakes.

I told her that I completely understand that feeling. I, too, have been feeling helpless and sad and frustrated lately because it is very hard to see people suffer and not be able to help them, aside from donating to relief organizations.

But I also offered her a chance to view the situation from a different perspective than the Limiting Belief she was holding that “If others are suffering, it’s wrong to pursue my own success and happiness.”

First and foremost, foregoing pursuing her own personal goals will not help even one other person who is suffering. If you have personally done something that hurt someone else — intentionally or unintentionally — you should, of course, sincerely apologize and do everything in your power to make it right.

But if you are simply feeling guilty because you cannot do anything directly to rectify their situation, your guilt is not going to alleviate their suffering. (It’s as illogical as when your parents used to tell you to clean your plate because there are starving children in other countries!)

And if you are succeeding in your business and someone else is falling short in theirs, feeling guilty about your own success is not going to make them successful. You can offer your suggestions and support, but ultimately, it’s up to them to succeed with the same tools you have been given.

When tragedies or social ills are widespread, it can make us feel helpless. The solution is not guilt, which is a truly useless emotion because it never spurs you to take effective action. Quite the opposite: Guilt paralyzes your creative brain by making you feel hopeless and depressed, which makes you truly useless to help others.

Instead, we can recognize that, even if we can only do a little by ourselves – like donating or volunteering to a cause – that action sets up the right energy to draw others to the cause. And many people united CAN create big results. So, instead of giving off guilty energy, making you and others feel lethargic and hopeless, you can choose to embody “I will do what I can” energy that makes you and everyone who comes in contact with you feel uplifted, hopeful and motivated to create change.

Finally, it is important to know that feelings of guilt or unworthiness are a tool the “Inner Protector” part of your Ego uses to protect you from taking any “risks” it fears will threaten your mental, emotional or physical well-being. Guilt provides a plausible “reason” for you to stay stuck on the sofa, which your Inner Protector thinks is the safest place for you, rather than out in the world pursuing your goals.

My intelligent free session client quickly grasped that her feelings of guilt that were threatening to derail her Big Goals could not provide one iota of help to any of the earthquake or flood or hurricane victims, but they did risk turning her into a kind of victim too. Because our beliefs, thoughts and emotions either move us in the direction of our dreams, or hold us back, guilt is NOT going to put the Law of Attraction (which says that “energy attracts like energy”) to work for you, attracting the people, resources and opportunities you need to succeed.

She brightened up considerably when I pointed out that the increased financial abundance that would come from creating a successful business would allow her to contribute MORE to the causes she cares about. And that will make a difference for others, while crying on the sofa and avoiding picking up the phone won’t.

So, the next time you are tempted to ask the heavens the unanswerable question “Why me?” I hope you will instead ask yourself, “Why NOT me?” and “What can I do right NOW to make a difference for myself and others?” Now, that is a question worth asking!

PLEASE NOTE: The blog is taking next weekend off. Look for a brand new Cup of Caroll on Sunday October 8.

If you or your friends would like your own free subscription to receive this blog three Sundays a month, just go to http://practicalprosperitycoach.com and click on the Prosperity Tips button at the top.

To schedule a no-obligation, F*R*E*E* HOUR of phone coaching that will help clarify your Big Goals and get you into ACTION to make them a reality, please email me at caroll@practicalprosperitycoach.com.

“The moment you speak something – good or bad – you give birth to it as an idea, an expectation, a desire. You have planted the seed that will, sooner or later, grow into the results you will reap.” – Julie David-Colan and Lee J. Colan

In last week’s blog, I described HOW I got the idea of teaching Jen Sincero’s great new book, You Are a Bad Ass at Making Money, as a summer tele-course to help my clients and their network marketing Teams (and any of my blog readers who were interested, too!) to overcome summer inertia and reach their Big Goals in record time. I shared with you that the first characteristic of a Big How is that it often comes to you out of the blue in a surprising form.

All of my clients were excited about the summer course idea and it also seemed like a perfect How for ME because I needed another income stream to get me through the tough time of year when many of my private coaching clients would “take a break” for a month or two. It was a Big How because it was clearly a Win-Win solution to the summer slump for both my clients and me!

Big How Characteristic #2: It often starts out as a small idea, but soon, the details start to take shape and then you realize that you must then ACT on them.

UH OH! As I was speaking my summer course idea into existence and getting enthusiastic responses, my clients’ questions made me realize that there were a LOT of details that must be handled efficiently for the course to be ready in a few short weeks. I made a long To-Do list, which turned out to be just the beginning of the Big, Fat Summer Adventure that 52 participants and I were about to embark on.

Fortunately, as Jen Sincero promises, “The Universe will always send you what you need. It wants you to succeed, to grow and blossom and shine.”

After I set the dates and began promoting “Prosperity Summer Camp” in my weekly blog, The Universe gave me one simple idea that proved to be a HUGE shortcut to success: I phoned my friend and mentor, Leslie Zann. She is an expert trainer for the direct sales/network marketing industry whose sage advice saved me lots of time and possible mistakes regarding the number of sessions, how much to charge, how to handle the registration and payment details and what platform to use for delivery. But in order to follow Leslie’s wise counsel, I had to face the next characteristic of a Big How.

Big How Characteristic #3: FEAR! Jen says, “Your role is to keep your mindset strong, open and ready to receive. And to do a whole lotta stuff you’ve never done before. Especially stuff that scares the living crap out of you and hurls you outside your comfort zone….When it comes to changing your life, if you’re not scared, you’re doing something wrong.”

Boy, is Jen right! All of Leslie’s advice seemed fairly easy to follow except one important piece. When I told her that I planned to use my old familiar voice-only tele-seminar format, Leslie exclaimed, “Oh, no! You MUST use Zoom!” Technology, it seems, has advanced a bit since I did my last group course several years ago. Now, most of my clients use video chatting for their Team gatherings and trainings.

I am used to looking at my notes while I speak on the phone. I asked Leslie how I could do that on video and still maintain eye contact with my audience. “Just put your notes on the desk in front of you,” she assured me. “You can glance down from time to time. No problem.” I was not wholly convinced that I could pull that off smoothly.

But an even bigger concern – OK, FEAR – was that I do not generally find technology to be easy to use. I was worried that Zoom might be too complicated for me to master in a few short weeks. Leslie assured me that Zoom’s tech support is great. She said I could ask them anything and have them walk me through it. That turned out to be her BEST advice of all. A couple of nice young tech reps at Zoom and I are now Besties.

Like most fears that threaten to stop us from allowing the perfect Big How to lead us to a Big Goal, mine turned out to be mere Limiting Beliefs. After a few practice sessions, I mastered all the basic Zoom controls needed to manage and record my presentations. If I had remained in my safe little tele-seminar cocoon, I am sure most of the course participants would have been bored silly. As it was, even my private coaching clients who took the course said it was great to finally SEE me and assured me that I did fine, both with Zoom AND my eye contact.

Which brings us to the final characteristic of an effective Big How, which I learned while creating and delivering the Prosperity Summer Camp course:

Big How Characteristic #4:It is far BETTER than any answer that we would have come up with ourselves, because it makes us GROW, while getting us to our Big Goal. The initial tiny spark that began my long journey to spending my entire summer delivering a webinar on the Law of Attraction was my sincere desire to help my clients stay on track pursuing their Big Goals AND an irresistible, burning desire to share with everyone I possibly could Jen Sincero’s amazing book that can teach them how to create the unlimited prosperity and success each of us deserves. And before I knew it, step-by-step, the Big How began to take shape.

If I had let my Limiting Beliefs and fears stop me from using the perfect delivery method that God/The Universe sent me, 52 participants and I would never have gained the invaluable knowledge and had the personal breakthroughs we all experienced.

I asked each participant to email me the outcome of the Big Goal they were trying to manifest by the end of the course. A number said they were amazed that they actually DID reach their goals – or nearly so — in six short weeks, and that their Big Hows were as surprising and delightful as my own.

Even those who did not reach their Big Goal by August 31 said they were grateful for their major personal breakthroughs – especially in overcoming fears and Limiting Beliefs and giving up their attachment to their OWN limited hows. Yes, Jen, we DID “succeed,grow, blossomand shine!”

As it turned out, the REAL gold in our Big, Fat Summer Adventure together was the growth spurt in our BELIEF. As Jen Sincero says, “Faith is the rocket that you ride into uncharted territory to get to your wildest dreams….You must believe that everything you desire really is available to you and that you possess all the tools, power, and permission to manifest it.”

Amen, Jen! Amen.

If you or your friends would like your own free subscription to receive this blog three Sundays a month, just go to http://practicalprosperitycoach.com and click on the Prosperity Tips button at the top.

To schedule a no-obligation, F*R*E*E* HOUR of phone coaching that will help clarify your Big Goals and get you into ACTION to make them a reality, please email me at caroll@practicalprosperitycoach.com.

“Any fact facing us is not as important as our attitude toward it, for that determines our success or failure.” – Norman Vincent Peal

How was your summer? I hope it included lots of opportunities to enjoy relaxation, recreation and travel. I didn’t get much of those myself. Nevertheless, I can honestly say that 2017 was one of the most emotionally fulfilling, financially rewarding and adventurous summers of my life!

What I did with my summer solved one of the biggest ongoing challenges I have as a self-employed, full-time professional coach: How to keep putting food on the table during the toughest season for my business.

I am sure it never occurs to them, but when some of my long-time, cherished coaching clients choose to take time off for a month or two during the summer, my income goes down. Way down. It’s a normal and natural annual cycle that I completely understand and have come to accept.… Yet, as the end of school approaches, my Ego inevitably begins worrying about just how many of my clients will decide to “take a break” and whether the bills will still get comfortably paid and my family will have the financial abundance needed for OUR vacation.

This year, I never got to that point because by mid-May I was off and running on an entirely new summer adventure, one that turned out to be the “How” that I had been seeking – and resisting — for most of my 13 years as a full-time professional coach. In retrospect, I can see that the perfect answer to my need to find additional income during the summer had all of the hallmarks of any powerful “HOW” that gets you to your Big Goal.

Now, I want to share them with you, so you can learn to spot the characteristics of a divinely-inspired, effective “Big How” that will allow you to fulfill any Big Goal YOU may want to pursue:

Big How Characteristic #1: It often comes to you unexpectedly, in a surprising form, when you aren’t even looking for it. First, a little background: My serious quest for greater summer prosperity actually began last December, as I discussed my upcoming 2017 career and personal goals with my dear friend and long-time mentor, Leslie Zann.

Many of my readers are familiar with Leslie because she is a very successful trainer and motivational speaker for the network marketing/direct sales industry, which also happens to be my own special niche in coaching. In fact, it was Leslie who introduced me to the first six clients who were all independent consultants in the same network marketing company. Through word of mouth, Leslie’s introduction rapidly snowballed into nearly 200 consultants from that company joining me in private coaching during the past four years, and I could not be more grateful to them or to her!

Leslie gave my summer slump conundrum some thought and said, “You need to find another stream of income outside of private coaching. What about group coaching?”

I have done many Team Calls for my Leader clients’ teams, to help them understand the Law of Attraction and give them LOA tools to help them reach their business goals. But those talks have just been one-time, free presentations. While I took certification in group coaching when I first became a Life Coach, I believed group work didn’t really suit my style and skills. I felt that I am most effective at helping my clients reach their Big Goals when I am able to get to know them individually over time, and help them overcome their internal blocks as we work together. So I immediately dismissed the idea of doing group coaching as a potential “How” for my own Big Goal of creating a more steady income during the summer.

Except that God/The Universe and my own subconscious mind didn’t dismiss it. I believe they were both listening in to my heartfelt desire and immediately began to collaborate on the ideal HOW for me to reach it. But, as is often the case with powerful HOWs, several pieces of the puzzle had to fall into place first.

My Big How began to take concrete shape “out of the blue” (literally), while I was thousands of feet up in the air. During the first week of May, Rick and I were flying toward our long-planned 10th wedding anniversary celebration and I took a book to read on the plane that a handful of my coaching clients had been extolling to me for weeks. Finally, I had the time to read You Are a Badass at Making Money by Jen Sincero and find out what the heck they were so excited about.

Just a few chapters in, I saw exactly what all the fuss was about! In her own uniquely funny, irreverent and tell-it-like-it-is style, Jen explained in practical, duplicatable ways, exactly how she and her coaching clients had used The Law of Attraction (energy attracts like energy) to create results that went far beyond what she or they had ever thought was possible and from a wide array of “HOWs” that none of them would ever have guessed.

I devoured the entire book during our plane trip, and took a lot of notes on what I felt were the highlights of her method for putting the Law of Attraction into action to create financial abundance or anything you desire.

On our coaching calls over the next few weeks, I told all of my clients they MUST read this book. I found myself emphatically declaring: “THIS book says exactly what I have been trying to teach my clients all along! Jen nailed it! When you read this book, you will understand exactly HOW the Law of Attraction works in real life to create whatever you want, whenever you want!”

And before I had given it much thought, I also heard myself declaring to each of them, “I am going to do a virtual workshop on this book during the summer. I know if my clients and their Teams read and understand it, it will make them truly BELIEVE they can reach their Big Goals and help them push through all the distractions of summer so they can take ACTION on them NOW!”

All of my clients thought it was a great idea! At that point, it suddenly dawned on me that I had just taken my hazy idea of teaching Jen Sincero’s great book as a summer course and spoken it into existence! My enthusiasm for promoting a way I saw to help others succeed was now rapidly taking on a life of its own — transforming into a concrete promise that I didn’t feel I could (or wanted to) back out of.

But UH OH! That was when I also suddenly realized there was a very long list of DETAILS that needed to be handled in order for the course to be ready by the summer that was rapidly approaching!

STAY TUNED NEXT WEEK as we explore the rest of the characteristics of a “Big How” – the delivery system that God/the Universe and your own subconscious mind create in partnership to help you reach a Big Goal, even when YOU have no idea how it can possibly happen.

If you or your friends would like your own free subscription to receive this blog three Sundays a month, just go to http://practicalprosperitycoach.com and click on the Prosperity Tips button at the top.

To schedule a no-obligation, F*R*E*E* HOUR of phone coaching that will help clarify your Big Goals and get you into ACTION to make them a reality, please email me at caroll@practicalprosperitycoach.com.

“It is always with excitement that I wake up in the morning wondering what my intuition will toss up to me, like gifts from the sea. I work with it and rely on it. It’s my partner.” – Jonas Salk, developer of the polio vaccine

“I expect the best, and with God’s help, will attain the best.” – Norman Vincent Peale, American theologian and positivity thinker

I hope all my readers in the USA had a wonderful Independence Day last week! I am hard at work on preparations for the Prosperity Summer Camp webinar that begins on July 18. So, I am providing you with this lightly-edited blog that originally ran two years ago because the very same phenomenon happened at the end of last month too.

I believe it’s worth reminding ourselves that when we give up trying to control the “HOW” for reaching a goal, but instead release it to our subconscious mind AND God/The Universe to collaborate together, they will always come up with the perfect path to success for us. Then we just have to show our commitment by taking the necessary ACTION on that plan.

August 2, 2015

“The moment you commit and quit holding back, all sorts of unforeseen incidents, meetings, and material assistance will rise up to help you. The simple act of commitment is a powerful magnet for help.” – Napoleon Hill

Today, I am celebrating the end of a month in which a number of my clients reached their BIGGEST goals through their willingness to be 100% committed to their own success, even when they didn’t know exactly HOW they would get it.

Several achieved a beautiful new Lexus, with the lease 100% paid for by their network marketing company. A number of newer Leaders reached “Level 5” – the first major leadership level in the company’s pay plan. In turn, seasoned Leaders who supported them soared to new heights themselves, as the new Leaders became the wind beneath their wings.

I am so impressed by the teamwork I witnessed among my clients – “upline” Leaders and their “downline” leaders actively helped each other to reach their individual goals. The abundance mentality and camaraderie were inspiring. I want to share with you the key lessons I got from watching them overcome every obstacle that stood in their way, because these are the necessary components for reaching ANY Big Goal you may have:

You do not have to know how you are going to reach your Big Goal. You just have to be 100% committed that you WILL. There is no “try.” You are either 100% IN or you might as well sit comfortably on the sidelines and save yourself the effort. To me, the definition of “commitment” is a rock-solid BELIEF that you will reach your Big Goal coupled with a willingness to PERSEVERE in overcoming all obstacles in your path. The “How” starts to take shape as soon as you demonstrate that you are 100% committed to your Big Goal. That’s when God/The Universe and your own subconscious mind collaborate to connect you to the people, resources and unexpected help to reach it in amazing ways.

You must ask for and EXPECT to get help and support. Every Leader I watched reach her Big Goal last month had lots of help from her teammates, friends and family. It can be humbling to ask for help, especially if you are usually the go-to person to whom others look for support. Even star athletes in individual sports have coaches, trainers, sponsors, family and friends who provide the essential support that lets them do their best and WIN. Doesn’t it feel good to YOU whenever you help someone else get something they really want? You have to remember that the same is true for others and allow them the joy of being part of a Team goal that is bigger than themselves!

Don’t allow another’s lack of belief to affect yours. An emerging Leader who was running for a Big Goal last month received a scathing email from her well-meaning former boss, telling her she was crazy to be involved in network marketing and inviting her to come back to work for her in the “sane” corporate world. I was so proud of my client. She refused to get defensive or let another person’s perspective make her doubt herself or her dreams. She sent a short message thanking her old boss for her concern, but stating that she loved what she was doing, was successful, and was soon going to be even MORE successful. She went on to quadruple the size of her Team in just 30 days!

Watch your language. One of my seasoned Leader clients wisely coached her newer Team members to watch the words they used when talking about their Big Goals. She knew the immense power words have to influence BELIEF. We literally “brainwash” our subconscious mind — for good OR for bad – through our choice of words. So she constantly reminded her Team members to say, “WHEN I reach my Goal,” instead of “IF I reach my Goal.” Instead of “I’m no good at sponsoring,” she taught them to say, “I am getting better at sponsoring every day.”

Never, never, NEVER give up! Even if you are just a few hours from the deadline to reach your Big Goal, DO NOT mentally throw in the towel! The minute your commitment wavers, the energy of the whole Team flags and the game is lost. One of my clients reached her Level V Leader goal during the last 15 minutes of the month! She never gave up, so her Team didn’t either. If Plan A didn’t work, they immediately turned to Plan B. The unexpected blessing that came out of them all pulling together to help their Leader reach her goal was that two of the Team members whose businesses had been dormant for months suddenly revived their enthusiasm and are now back to actively pursuing their own success.

Stronger faith, greater inner strength, a sense of accomplishment, the joy of teamwork, learning to graciously accept help from others – these are the REAL prizes that come from being committed to reaching a Big Goal. Public recognition, more money, a new car – these are merely the fun little “carrots” that God/The Universe dangles in front of your Ego to lure it out of its comfort zone so you can make the effort to grow and develop into the BEST you can be. Thank goodness we keep falling for it!

IMPORTANT NOTE:A Cup of Carollis taking one more Sunday off so that I can complete preparations for my upcoming Prosperity Summer Camp webinar. TUESDAY, you will receive a FINAL promotional email stating that registration is still OPEN through July 17.The six-module course begins on Tuesday evening July 18. I promise you that it going to be interactive, fun and create lots of new prosperity for those who join me! Your friends, family and Teammates are welcome to join the course, as long as there is still room. Please forward that email to them and encourage them to sign up ASAP!

If you or your friends would like your own free subscription to receive this blog three Sundays a month, just go to http://practicalprosperitycoach.com and click on the Prosperity Tips button at the top.

****************** The Gift of Dreams Fulfilled! ********************

I invite you to offer someone you care about a truly unique gift that can change their life — ONE HOUR of Personal Success Coaching! It is absolutely F*R*E*E* of charge, with no obligation and no strings attached! And if YOU haven’t coached with me in awhile and would like a “tune up” session please give yourself this gift!

To schedule a F*R*E*E* HOUR of phone coaching that will help clarify your Big Goals and get you into ACTION to make this the BEST year yet, please email me at caroll@practicalprosperitycoach.com or call toll-free 888-503-8145.

“You need to learn how to select your thoughts just the same way you select your clothes every day. This is a power you can cultivate. If you want to control things in your life so bad, work on the mind. That’s the only thing you should be trying to control.” – Elizabeth Gilbert

When several of my coaching clients told me they were reading You Are a Bad Ass at MakingMoney by Jen Sincero and vowed that it was EVEN better than her fabulous You Are a Bad Ass, I immediately ordered a copy. I am SO glad I did!

My autographed copy arrived just in time for me to devour most of it on our long flights to and from Hawaii last month. I am urging you now: RUN, don’t walk, to get this book….IF you are interested in having more financial prosperity in your life. In fact, if you are interested in having more of ANYTHING in your life.

Really, the only thing I can come up with that doesn’t require money is LOVE. So, if we are honest, what concerns us most is how to create more MONEY in our lives because money is the foundation for having time freedom, dream homes, beautiful cars, the best educational opportunities for our kids, creative pursuits, exciting travel adventures and the ability to fully support our favorite charities and causes.

I truly have not been so impressed with a book about the Law of Attraction (which states that “energy attracts like energy”) since The Power by Rhonda Byrne years ago. Sincero’s new book is so clear, so easy to understand, and so damn FUNNY, I promise that you will turn the pages quickly and laugh out loud frequently, as I did — and then decide to go back and re-read it and do every exercise in the book.

I have been studying, teaching and striving to fully LIVE the formula for using the power of your mind and energy to create anything you want since I was first introduced to it via the network marketing industry in the mid-1990’s. They didn’t call it “The Law of Attraction” back then (credit for that goes to Rhonda Byrne and The Secret), but authors have been trying to explain how to use it to make your dreams a reality for several centuries. (Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill was one of the first, and still one of the best, modern books on this topic.)

I have gotten many useful insights and ideas from these scores of books and videos by Master Manifesters over the years, which I have put into practice in my own life. I have used The Law of Attraction to dig our family out of a deep financial hole from the Great Recession, to find the perfect car, the perfect home and the perfect husband (Yes, Rick, you ARE perfect!). I have used it to create magical vacation experiences and to survive serious threats to our financial and physical well- being. I know it is real and I know it works. Reliably, every time.

I got one very useful NEW insight about the Law of Attraction from Jen Sincero’s latest book (which is filled with jaw-dropping and often funny stories of her and her coaching clients’ triumphs at creating large amounts of money when it looked like they didn’t have a prayer of doing so) about the fact that FEAR is always going to be a factor in manifesting what you want.

If you are pursuing the HOW that is going to get you the money or item you really, really want, you have to realize that you MUST experience some discomfort or even cold sweat FEAR in order to get it. That doesn’t mean that the How contains a REAL risk to your physical well-being. It usually indicates that your Ego is terrified that you will either fail and will then be ridiculed or devastated emotionally OR that you will succeed and be overwhelmed by your new power and responsibilities or disliked by those who are jealous of your success.

The FEAR can stop you from having your greatest desire when it is right at your fingertips. You have to WANT it so much and BELIEVE that you are going to get it so deeply that you are willing to walk through all fear or discomfort and come out the other side. If you are willing to face your fear and do it anyway, you have a great shot at success.

Jen is great at telling it like it is. I love that she doesn’t sugar-coat this because I know that my own Ego and my coaching clients’ Egos have threatened to sabotage us by trying to convince us that the “risk” is REAL and we should STOP NOW in our pursuit of our Big Dreams. (These fears are called “Limiting Beliefs” for a reason!) If you follow the steps of the Law of Attraction and if your belief is stronger than your Ego’s fear, I know that it WILL work for you. Reliably, every time.

My own most recent Law of Attraction manifestation experience happened last week: While Rick and I were out delivering his monthly newsletter to each door in his real estate “farm,” I declared to God/The Universe that, “I am creating that Rick will get at least one new real estate transaction from this newsletter.” I really BELIEVED it and felt EXCITED to see how God/The Universe would make it happen. (Two musts for using the Law of Attraction to manifest what you want, according to Sincero’s book.)

The following day, which was Memorial Day, Rick and I entered a local restaurant and caught sight of our favorite server in the main dining room. We hadn’t seen “Marie” in quite a few months because she only works weekdays and we usually go there for brunch on Sunday. Also, we arrived at the end of the lunch rush, which was usually the time she went home, so it was a lovely surprise to see her still there. We asked to be seated in her section and Rick ran back to the car to get one of his newsletters, as Marie always likes to guess Rick’s monthly “trivia quiz” for a chance at a gift card.

At first, Marie frowned at the hostess, clearly indicating that she was about to end her shift and didn’t really want any new customers. But when she saw it was us, she beamed and came rushing over to our table, exclaiming, “This is a sign from the Universe that you are here!” As Rick handed her his newsletter, she told him that she has finally decided to take action on her longtime dream of selling her condo and moving to Idaho, where her retired father (and co-owner of her condo) now lives.

“I have been torn between using you or my dear friend ‘Linda’ to list my house for sale. She and I have been friends for years, but she is new to real estate and Dad is urging me to use someone more experienced. Now, here you are, and I take that as my sign it’s supposed to be YOU!”

And with that, Rick secured his next client. It was not exactly the HOW I had envisioned, but that is something Jen Sincero emphasizes we have to give up. We can’t control HOW God/The Universe chooses to fulfill our desires. Our job is to be CLEAR about what we want, to BELIEVE it will happen, and to take committed ACTION toward our goals– which inevitably means we have to walk through our fear and do it anyway!

So I have decided to step through one of my own big fears and declare this: I am offering anyone who reads my blog and their friends, colleagues and loved ones the chance to attend a virtual Law of AttractionSummer Camp that I am creating for July and August.

You send your kids to summer camp to help them stay actively engaged, learn new skills, gain confidence, have fun and make new friends. Why shouldn’t we adults use our summer to do the same AND learn exactly how to manifest anything we want – especially money!

I am offering you and your friends the chance to learn exactly how to do this, as I have been doing in my own life and teaching my coaching clients to do for many years now. We will all read You Are a Bad Ass at Making Money together during the two month course, to get the wonderful foundation in Law of Attraction principles that Jen Sincero provides. During the six one-hour classes, I will teach you even MORE practical applications of her precepts. I will share with you my very BEST tools, tips and techniques that I have used for over 20 years to “make the Law of Attraction my bitch,” as Jen Sincero would say. I will do group coaching as part of each session AND hold at least one private phone coaching session with each participant, all included in the very affordable course fee.

The scary part for me? For the first time ever, I am going to present via a Zoom webinar. (Participants who don’t want to use Zoom for free can still use the telephone to access the seminar.) Tele-seminars have been my familiar, comfortable format up to now. And learning new technology is not my strong suit….So this is uncharted territory for me. I am both scared and excited to stretch and grow my presentation and group coaching skills to make the class as engaging and participatory as possible because I want everyone to actually REACH a Big Goal they have set by the end of the two months (whether financial or otherwise).

If you want to learn to manifest your dreams more easily – reliably, every time – I hope you will join me at a Summer Camp for your wallet! Let’s support each other to put something at stake for the course, walk through our fears, and prove that we can each manifest a Big Goal by the end of summer 2017!

Stay tuned for more details about the course and how to register in a separate email that will come to you soon. I hope you will forward it to others and help me spread the word to everyone you know who wants their life to be MORE fulfilling, MORE prosperous, MORE joyful and MORE fun!

If you would like your own free subscription to receive this blog three Sundays a month, just go to my website at http://www.practicalprosperitycoach.com and click on the Prosperity Tips button at the top.

I invite you to give a friend, colleague or loved one a truly unique gift that can change their life — ONE HOUR of Personal Success Coaching. It is absolutely F*R*E*E* with no obligation and no strings attached! You can give this to as many people who will really appreciate it as you wish. (If you haven’t been in coaching with me for a while, feel free to claim it for YOURSELF, too!)

To schedule a F*R*E*E* HOUR of phone coaching that will help them clarify their Big Goals and get into ACTION to make this their BEST year yet, have them contact me at caroll@practicalprosperitycoach.com or toll free 888-503-8145 to schedule their session.